Friday, November 28, 2008

Rachel McKnight / Natasha Heaslip

What better gift for a layered, colourful person than a layered, colourful ring? And if that person also happens to be translucent, all the more appropriate! Albeit medically peculiar! Rings in polypropylene, rubber and silver by Northern Ireland's Rachel McKnight.

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Jed Green / Sprout Jewelry

I'm pretty sure I've seen spheres before. And I'm pretty sure these are spheres. So why do I feel like I'm looking at something new? I don't know how she does it but UK jeweller Jed Green takes a ubiquitous shape and makes it her own with these planetary rings in glass, pearls and silver.

Bonus link: if planetary is your thing, you might also like the silver "in orbit" ring by New York's Sprout Jewelry (US$32).

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Annamária Kovaľová / Asha Beta (Nicomis Blalock)

Awooga? Slovak designer Annamária Kovaľová has a series of rings and necklaces featuring this large knob form  a shape reminiscent of those old-timey car horns. I don't think they're squeezable, though, as they look to be made of resin (but that's just a guess, and I hate to make an ess out of u and g). Below, some more samples of her work:

Monday, November 24, 2008

Betty Pepper / Millemo

Destroying books is sacrilege! But creating rings is... whatever the opposite of sacrilege is! I'm torn... like the pages of this book! While my mind runs in an infinite loop, please enjoy the work of British artist Betty Pepper, who creates jewellery using aged and faded textiles that she feels are "constantly in a state of deterioration."

Bonus link: for a ring covered in words of your own choosing (perhaps from your favourite book), get a customized text ring from Millemo of France.

Friday, November 21, 2008

Globalcoolo (Patrizia Iacino) / Gwen Oulman Brennan

I knew Cracker Jacks came with a prize, but asparagus? New York-based Italian jeweller Patrizia Iacino saw the potential in those rubber bands that hold your produce together, recycling them into eye-catching pieces like this ring from her SAL collection (above).

Visit her site Globalcoolo for more, including milk caps, bottle caps and this ring cast from a contact lens case. (Which I guess makes it more lens-catching than eye-catching.)

Bonus link: for more jewellery featuring found objects, like this ring made from roofing, check out Rhode Island's Gwen Oulman Brennan.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Hadas Shaham / Natasha Seedorf

Parkades and smokestacks may have given metal and concrete a bad name but Israel's Hadas Shaham is here to change all that. Defying the cold, industrial style you might expect from a line of concrete jewellery, her pieces are architectural with a pretty flourish  little pieces of paved paradise that even Joni Mitchell might appreciate.

Bonus link: speaking of architecture, check out this piece by Colorado's Natasha Seedorf. It's her "cat lady" ring, which would explain why there's hair coming out of the windows.

Monday, November 17, 2008

Sakurako Shimizu / Jenny Lau

Gesundheit! In her "Waveform" series, Brooklyn's Sakurako Shimizu records human sounds (like a sneeze or a giggle), runs the data through some editing software and lasercuts the resulting soundwave into her jewellery  the ultimate in personalized patterns. The first photo is actually a cuff but the second is a pair of wedding bands based on a recording of the words "I do." (For a similar concept, see these EKG rings.)

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Bario Neal

Weekend quickie: I normally don't post the same designer more than once but I get to cheat in this case because of a name change! Philadelphia's Rust Belt, whom I listed last year as one of my "even more jewellery" non-ring links, is now Bario Neal  and they now sell rings, like these enamel pieces, US$53.

Friday, November 14, 2008

Kathleen Hennemann / Justin Klocke

You can have your E=mc2  it takes real genius to make me want to wear a wine goblet embedded in concrete. Germany's Kathleen Hennemann puts a modern edge on old-world motifs, resulting in an amazing collection. More samples below but be sure to visit her site to see it all!

Bonus link: if you object to that linked gun ring above, here are some linked arms of a more peaceful sort. By Colorado's Justin Klocke.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

YunJu Lee / Manuel Charpenet

These rings aren't the only ironic thing in YunJu Lee's collection. Check out the UK designer's site for a playful celebration of those accidental accessories we've all worn at one time or another: stains.

Bonus link: sticking with irons, here's a band engraved with laundry instructions (ironing allowed) by Manuel Charpenet of France.

Monday, November 10, 2008

Catherine Allen / Caroline Friedli

Halifax jeweller Catherine Allen proves that you can wear a pretty piece of polyester. Pictured are rings in polyester, cotton, silver, copper and enamel from her "emotional outburst" and "common threads" series.

Friday, November 07, 2008

Mollie Kathleen / Gillian Hillerud

Every cloud  and building  has a silver lining in the hands of Kansas metalsmith Mollie Kathleen. I love how she turns a dense cluster of skyscrapers into something light and airy! Here's an aerial view of her map & airplane ring:

Wednesday, November 05, 2008

Faye Miller / Erica Zap

These rings could save your life! Much more stylish than bulky life vests are these resin "buoy" rings by England's Faye Miller. Okay, so they might not be enough to keep a human afloat, but I'm sure they'd catch the attention of any rescue helicopter. More samples below:

Bonus link: for balls in metal, see Rhode Island jeweller Erica Zap; this sterling piece, available in matte or shiny finish, is US$44.

About Me

Hi! Visit the shop at thecarrotbox.com and get the full version of the blog at thecarrotbox.com/news! I stopped putting a full copy of the blog here because I think Google thought I was some copycat weirdo.